Beer Tastings Washington DC

Craft Beer and Food for the Holidays program ties together American craft beer flavors with traditional holiday foods

Craft Beer and Food for the Holidays from the Brewers Association, highlights the ways in which craft beer styles complement many traditional American holiday foods.

Caramelized and toasted grain flavors in many beers complement the flavors of roast turkey while herbal hop additions pair nicely with popular holiday seasonings such as sage. Furthermore, the carbonation, fruitiness and balanced bitterness of many craft beers allow them to stand up to creamy, butter-rich preparations like mashed potatoes, creamed corn and similar fare.

Julia Herz, a spokesperson for the Brewers Association stated, "Our country's history is rich with stories of beer and food and craft beer picks up where wine leaves off. Many styles of beer both complement and contrast the food they are paired with, whereas wine mostly contrasts. The holiday dinner table is a very appropriate place for beer made from America's small, independent and traditional brewers."

The best beverage to pair with any food ultimately depends not just on the main ingredient, but the spices, preparation and accompanying dishes as well. To get you started on the perfect pairing for your holiday celebrations, here are some suggestions for beer styles you might pair with various main courses.

Traditional Roast Turkey:  The roasted and caramelized skin matches well with amber ale, a strong golden ale or an amber lager in the Vienna style. 

Smoked Turkey: If your local brewery offers a smoked beer, that can serve as a complement to smoked turkey as well.  Look for a porter, Scotch ale or amber ale in the smoked style.

Cajun Turkey: Celebrated beer writer and New Mexico resident Stan Hieronymus suggests a malty IPA to go with his favorite Cajun turkey recipe. For a malty alternative that will stand up to the heat, try a dark bock or strong Scotch ale.

Ham:  Like the fruit and cloves often used to prepare ham, the fruity, clove notes in weizen or the stronger weizenbock compliment ham at the dinner table. 

Duck:  The darker meat of duck offers a richer flavor than turkey and can stand up to a richer beer as well. Here a Belgian-inspired dubbel or a hearty Oktoberfest lager would go well.

Goose: Here too a richer beer than you would choose for turkey is in order. A Belgian-style triple or biere de garde would work well or maybe a bock or Scotch ale.

Salmon:  A dunkel lager or Scottish ale can offer a clean toasted malt note to offset the firm flavors of salmon without a lot of bitterness that would overwhelm the fish. Other options would include a mild ale or steam beer.

Leg of Lamb:  Pale ales provide a pleasant foil to lamb with spicy or herbal character to compliment the character of the meat along with some toasted malt notes. Or for more harmony with the roasted flavors of the meat, try a hoppy brown...

     Wine enthusiasts have for a long time, known the importance of glass shape and size in appreciating aroma and flavour.
     Now well-educated beer drinkers are starting to discover how glass shape and size change the taste and smell of beer.
     Belgians are the greatest beer consumers in the world, even surpassing Germans and Czechs. In Belgium, a small country in size and population, hundreds of craft breweries survive, and compete with one of the largest brewery organizations of the world Interbrew, which also owns Labatt's among many others in the world.
     In this small, but beer-loving nation, many breweries commission glass designers to cerate glasses that coax the best from the beer.
     When you enter a Belgian pub you will encounter several distinct glasses. Each beer is served in its proper glass for you appreciate it at its best.

     Stella Artois, a premium lager, brewed by Interbrew, tastes better when served in a chalice with a narrow opening to concentrate its distinctive hoppey aroma, and helps keep the dense creamy white head to hold for a long time. The design of the glass makes possible for the beer to flow into the mouth from under the head.
     The beer definitely smells much better in this glass than in a regular tumbler.
     Wheat beers taste better when served in a thick, clear tumbler. The thickness of the walls keep the beer cold for a long time and allow the natural cloudy appearance to be appreciated. Wheat beer brewing can be traced back to 1445 and today many breweries in Belgium, Germany, Canada, and the USA market this style of beer successfully.
     When the weather gets warm or hot there is not better thirst quencher than a fine wheat beer laced with a splash of raspberry syrup or woodruff. Belgian wheat beers are also flavoured with coriander and orange peel for an extra taste dimension.
     Abbey beers, popular in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and Italy are generally ales. Most exude fine hoppy aromas, and possess a refined full body. Many are bottle conditioned and throw a sediment.
     For abbey beer, chalice glasses with wide openings are recommended. This shape allows for the bouquet to fully develop and for the liquid to flow easily into the mouth.
     Lager beers in general taste fine served in narrow, tulip-shaped glasses holding 300 – 400 ml of liquid.
     Ales, particularly British, taste fine in tumbler-shaped glasses holding 350 – 450 ml of liquid. British generally like to drink their beers with very little head (crown) thus the shape of the glass! They are also not fond of excessive carbon dioxide in their beers. It bloats.
     All beer glasses must be impeccably clean and...